What Theme Song Would You Choose for Your Life?

When Randy and I came to Florida to visit  our oldest son Andrew last May we took a trip to the beach on our last night. It had stormed much of the day and as the sun set there was a beautiful rainbow. I was sad to be going home but thinking of the possibilities that maybe we would come back for good. Andrew found a song on his phone and played it as we stood watching the rainbow slowly fade as the sun set.  The song was “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. The version with the ukulele. It became my theme song for that period of time when we were trying to decide whether God wanted us to move or not.

After we moved we had a truckload of belongings to store since we’d downsized so drastically. It was a hassle to unload and figure out what went into storage and what we would need at Andrew’s.  My creative son again found a song to bring a little comic relief to a stressful situation. The song was the theme from the old television show called  Sandford & Son.  Now every time we talk about going to the storage unit you can count on hearing that song in the background as we leave the house.

This week I was diagnosed with diverticulitis. It hasn’t been too bad, just painful but I’ve spent much of the past two days in bed. Again, my son came to the rescue. He found a song for the occasion. Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “Dive”. While it was an obvious play on words, (have I mentioned that my son has a rather warped sense of humor?) the lyrics really do apply to times of trial. One line especially speaks to me.

But we will never know the awesome power
Of the grace of God
Until we let ourselves get swept away
Into this holy flood

Sometimes you just have to throw yourself into God’s waiting arms and let Him handle what’s going on in your life.

One thing that happens when you spend time recovering from an illness is you have lots of time to think.  Last night after Andrew had played “my song” before telling me good night, I got to thinking about the playlist he is creating as things happen. It’s amusing and we get a good laugh but it also made me think about how songs relate to our lives.

I asked myself what I would choose as the theme song of my life if I had to have just one.  Some people might choose a song like Frank Sinatra’s “I Did It My Way.”  Others might look at their lives and choose a song like the theme from the movie Titanic, equating their lives to a sinking ship.

After thinking about it, I think I would choose a song that never fails to move me when I hear it. The song is “In Christ Alone.”  That is the song that helps me navigate this life with all its trials and struggles.  I especially love this verse:

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

No matter what life brings, it’s a comfort to know that NOTHING can remove us from the palm of God’s hand.

John 10:29  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.